OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University tied it in the eighth, but Tarleton State University responded with an unearned run in the 10th to claim the series opener, 4-3 in 10 innings, on a cold and wet Friday evening at UCCU Ballpark. 
 
New WAC foe Tarleton improves to 13-23 overall and 6-11 in conference play with the victory, while UVU falls to 6-24 and 4-13 in WAC competition with setback. The two teams will continue the four-game weekend set on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at UCCU Ballpark.
 
"That's a tough loss for our guys," head UVU coach Eric Madsen said. "I thought that we played well and did a nice job of battling back as well as some other good things. But now we have to get ourselves ready to respond tomorrow (Saturday)."
 
With first-year NCAA Division I and WAC member Tarleton holding to a 3-1 lead in the eighth, the Wolverines then got a pair of runners aboard in the last of the eighth after Mitch Moralez reached on an error and Kade Poulsen singled to center to put runners on the corners with two away. Junior catcher Drew Sims then delivered a clutch RBI single through the right side to bring in Moralez and make it a one-run game at 3-2. Sophomore third baseman Mick Madsen then immediately followed with an RBI single of his own through the right side to bring in Poulsen from second and tie the ballgame at 3-3.
 
After a scoreless ninth and with the international tiebreaker in effect in the 10th, the Texans then loaded the bases with two away following a pair of walks. Tarleton's Colby Seltzer then worked the Texans third walk of the frame to drive in the go-ahead run in pinch runner Colby Feris and give Tarleton the 4-3 extra-inning advantage. 
 
Then in the last of the 10th, UVU quickly moved Garrett Broussard—who started the inning on second base—over to third following a groundout to the right side of the infield from Moralez. With one out and Broussard leading from third, Tarleton closer AJ Wood responded by getting Alexander Marco to fly out for the second out and followed by getting Poulsen to groundout to end the ballgame. 
 
Early in the contest, Tarleton jumped out to a 1-0 advantage following a trio of first-inning singles. Blake Burns drove in Tyler Fowler in the frame with an RBI knock to give the Texans the early lead. 
 
UVU starter Jesse Schmit settled in from there as he and Tarleton's starter Alex Pinedo put up zeros on the board into the seventh. They also combined to allow just five hits while striking out 10 combined batters to keep it a 1-0 contest into the seventh inning.
 
In the top of the seventh, the Texans then managed to manufacture a run to take a 2-0 lead. Following a walk and a stolen base from Seltzer, he then came in to score on a ground ball hit deep into the hole at short from Dean Frew along with a UVU throwing error to give Tarleton the two-run cushion.
 
In the last of the seventh, the UVU offense threatened for the first time following back-to-back singles from Poulsen and Sims followed by a walk from Madsen to load the bases with nobody out in the frame. Pacen Hayes then followed by driving in Poulsen with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 2-1. Tarleton's Pinedo then responded with a strikeout and a groundout to keep it a 2-1 score.
 
Tarleton then got a run back in the top of the eighth to take a 3-1 lead. After a walk and a wild pitch moved Kemuel Thomas-Rivera into scoring position, Burns then drove in his second run of the game with an RBI single up the middle to give the Texans an important two-run cushion at the time.
 
The Wolverines then responded with the two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth to tie it and force extras. 
 
Poulsen, Sims and Madsen led UVU offensively in the contest by each recording two hits apiece. Poulsen also scored twice, while Sims and Madsen each drove in a run. Hayes also picked up an RBI for the Wolverines on the day. Burns paced Tarleton by going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a walk, while London Green, Frew and Spencer Bloom also added two-hit outings on the day for the Texans. 
 
Despite a strong start from the Preseason All-WAC selection Schmit in which he surrendered just two runs while striking out five and scattering eight hits, and solid relief outings from Carson Brown, Spenser Triplett and Devin Smith, Triplett (1-3) was tagged with the loss after allowing what proved to be the winning run score in the 10th after issuing a trio of walks that frame. After blowing the save in the eighth, Tarleton closer Wood responded by tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless late relief to get credit with the victory and improve to 2-1 on the year. Tarleton starter Pinedo picked up a no-decision after 7.0 strong innings in which he allowed just one run on four hits while striking out six. 
 
The game marked the first-ever meeting between the Wolverines and Texans on the diamond. It also marked UVU's third consecutive ballgame to go into extra innings, as the final two contests of last weekend's series at UT Rio Grande Valley also went into extra frames. 
 
The series will continue on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Game one of the twin bill will be a seven-inning contest while the nightcap—which is slated to begin at approximately 4 p.m. will be a full nine. The series will then conclude on Sunday at 11 a.m. For ticket information, visit GoUVU.com/Tickets.